Managing Projects

This chapter covers the detailed management of projects including views, phases, tasks, dependencies, Gantt charts, Kanban boards, team management, time tracking, and the client portal.

Grid/List View Toggle

The Projects module offers two layout options for browsing projects:

• Grid View — projects displayed as visual cards in a grid layout, showing status, health color, team avatars, and date range
• List View — projects displayed in a data table with sortable columns

Toggle between views using the view switcher buttons at the top of the page.

Project Cards

In grid view, each project card displays:

• Project name and color tag
• Status badge (Not Started, In Progress, On Hold, etc.)
• Health indicator (On Track, At Risk, Off Track)
• Team member avatars (first few members)
• Start and end dates
• Progress percentage (based on completed tasks/phases)

Project Detail Page

Click a project to open its detail page, which contains the following tabs:

Overview

A summary panel showing:

• Project description and objectives
• Key dates (start, end, duration)
• Status and health
• Progress bar
• Key metrics (total tasks, completed tasks, overdue tasks)
• Linked opportunity (if applicable)
• Milestones with status

Phases/Tasks

The structured breakdown of the project into phases and tasks.

Phases are major milestones or stages of the project (e.g., "Planning," "Development," "Testing," "Launch").

Each phase contains:

• Phase name and description
• Start and end dates
• Status
• Tasks assigned to that phase
• Progress percentage

Tasks within phases:

• Can be created, edited, and completed inline
• Support assignees, due dates, and priorities
• Support subtasks for breaking down complex work items
• Show dependency indicators when linked to other tasks
• Are the same task entities used throughout the CRM

Subtasks:

• Click a task to expand and view its subtasks
• Add subtasks with their own assignee, due date, and status
• Subtask completion contributes to the parent task's progress

To add a phase:

1. Click Add Phase.
2. Enter the phase name, dates, and description.
3. Click Save.

To add a task to a phase:

1. Click Add Task within the phase.
2. Fill in task details (title, assignee, due date, priority).
3. Click Save.

To add a subtask:

1. Click a task to open it.
2. Click Add Subtask.
3. Enter the subtask details.
4. Click Save.

Task Dependencies

Set up dependencies between tasks to define execution order:

1. Open a task within a project.
2. In the task detail, click Add Dependency.
3. Select the task that must be completed first.
4. The dependency is created as Finish-to-Start (the dependent task cannot start until the predecessor finishes).

Dependencies are visualized in the Gantt chart as connecting arrow lines between task bars.

warning

Circular dependencies (A depends on B, B depends on A) are not allowed. The system validates dependency chains when you add them.

Kanban View

A board-style view with tasks organized by status:

• Columns represent task statuses (To Do, In Progress, In Review, Done, etc.)
• Drag and drop tasks between columns to change their status
• Each card shows task title, assignee avatar, due date, and priority
• Filter by phase, assignee, or priority

tip

Use the Kanban view for daily standups and sprint management. It provides the quickest way to see what everyone is working on and move tasks through the workflow.

Gantt Chart

A visual timeline showing phases and tasks as horizontal bars on a time axis:

• Phases appear as summary bars spanning their date range
• Tasks appear as bars within their phase
• Dependencies are shown as connecting arrow lines between tasks
• Milestones appear as diamond markers at their target date
• Today marker — a vertical line indicating the current date
• Drag to adjust — resize bars to change dates
• Zoom levels — day, week, month views

tip

Use the Gantt chart during project planning and status meetings. It provides the best visual representation of timelines, overlaps, and dependencies.

Team

Manage the project team:

• View team members — see all assigned users with their project roles
• Add members — search and add CRM users to the project
• Set roles — assign project roles (Project Manager, Developer, Designer, QA, etc.)
• Remove members — remove users from the project team

Role	Description
Project Manager	Overall project ownership and coordination
Developer	Technical implementation
Designer	UI/UX and visual design
QA	Quality assurance and testing
Consultant	Advisory or specialist role
Custom	Any other role defined by the team

Time Tracking

Log and view time entries for project tasks:

Logging Time

1. Open a task within the project.
2. Click Log Time.
3. Enter:
   • Hours — time spent (decimal, e.g., 1.5 for 90 minutes)
   • Date — when the work was performed
   • Description — brief note about what was done
   • Billable — toggle whether this time is billable to the client
4. Click Save.

Viewing Time Entries

• Per Task — each task shows total logged hours
• Per Phase — phases aggregate time from all their tasks
• Project Total — the overview shows total hours logged and total billable hours
• By Team Member — see how hours are distributed across team members

note

Billable time entries can be used when generating invoices. The total billable hours help calculate project profitability and can be included on client invoices.

Documents

Upload and manage project-related files — specifications, designs, contracts, reports, deliverables, etc.

Activity

A timeline of all project activity — phase completions, task updates, team changes, time entries, and document uploads. See Activity Timeline.

Client Portal

The client portal provides external stakeholders with read-only access to project progress without requiring a CRM account.

How It Works

1. Open a project.
2. Go to Settings or Client Portal tab.
3. Enable the client portal.
4. A unique token-based URL is generated:

   https://yourdomain.com/portal/{tenant-slug}/{project-token}

5. Share this URL with your client.

Client Portal Permissions

The portal provides controlled access — clients can see:

Feature	Visible
Project overview and progress	Yes
Phase names and status	Yes
Task list and completion status	Yes
Milestones	Yes
Documents (shared)	Yes
Team member names	Yes
Internal notes and comments	No
Time tracking details	No
Financial data	No
Other projects	No

warning

The client portal URL contains a security token. Anyone with the link can access the portal. Regenerate the token if you need to revoke access.

Client Portal View

The portal displays:

• Project name and description
• Overall progress bar and health status
• Phases with completion percentage
• Milestones with dates and status
• Shared documents available for download
• Team members with names and roles

Linked Opportunities

If the project was created from an opportunity:

• A link to the source opportunity appears on the project overview
• Click the link to navigate to the opportunity detail page
• Revenue and deal data from the opportunity is accessible in context

note

Linking projects to opportunities provides end-to-end visibility from deal to delivery. Reports can track revenue from sale through project completion.

Milestones Management

Milestones mark key checkpoints in the project lifecycle:

1. Open the project.
2. Go to the Overview or Milestones section.
3. Click Add Milestone.
4. Enter:
   • Name — milestone title (e.g., "Phase 1 Delivery," "Client Sign-off")
   • Date — target completion date
5. Click Save.

Milestone Statuses

Status	Description
Pending	Milestone has not been reached yet
Completed	Milestone has been achieved
Overdue	Target date has passed without completion

Milestones appear in the Gantt chart as diamond markers and on the project overview for quick status checking.